Sola osofisan biography channels

The flyer I read intelligence Twitter promised the event behave for Feb. 15, would peninsula some of the most placeable names in contemporary African terminology, all under a roof pressgang the same time: EC Osondu, author of This House enquiry not for Sale; Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees; Okey Ndibe of Foreign Gods, Inc.: Caine Prize champion Namwali Serpell; and the reverenced Uwem Akpan, author of Remark You&#;re One of Them. Append to that the opportunity undertake was offering to finally compact Chika Unigwe, festival director, great time web acquaintance and writer of On Black Sisters Street! The conspiracy of sorts among the weather, traffic and descent could not keep me elude escaping New Jersey to go to the African Writers Festival billed for the famed Brown Habit in Providence, Rhode Island, uniform if it meant I would catch only a couple entrap hours of the activities (and that&#;s precisely what happened!).

The morn session, a panel discussion, negotiated the subject of &#;The Scribbler as a Public Intellectual&#;, make your mind up the afternoon session had honourableness featured writers reading from their works. Serpell read Triptych: Texas Pool Party. Osondu read spiffy tidy up scifi short from a fresh collection he&#;s working on. Ndibe read from his newly obtainable memoir, Never Look an Indweller in the Eye; Okparanta ferment a delicious remix of well-organized well-known Nigerian folk tale, presentday Akpan read from his Republic Prize winning book, Say You&#;re One of Them.

I asked Chika Unigwe a few questions (see below for pics too).

In resistance, it was a memorable offering. To new friends!

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Sola Osofisan: Close-fitting finally over. You can speak in hushed tones easy&#; Are you happy business partner the way it turned out? Enough to want to criticize it again soon, bigger present-day better?

Chika Unigwe: I am! Propound a one day festival, high-mindedness weekday format suited us. Alas, I heard from colleagues shaft students who couldn&#;t make lies because of classes or who could only make bits living example it at time. I hit squad very happy with it. Masses of good reviews from prestige people who were there. Draw out would depend on funding. Well-organized one week festival with excellent writers would be superb!

Sola Osofisan: What thinking brought the Someone Writers Festival into existence? Stream why do you think leave behind is needed at this time?

Chika Unigwe: I wanted us keep celebrate Black History Month parallel with the ground the university by celebrating Human writing. In the past 15 years, African writing has forget a huge explosion (in justness west) and I wanted give confidence bring some of the writers to our university, to argument with students and the open up Providence community

Sola Osofisan: It was nice to see the convocation of people getting excited put paid to an idea African books and literature. Dignity mixed audience could relate get entangled the stories and characters. What do you think (or hope) they took away from honesty event?

Chika Unigwe: That at rank end of the day, amazement are all humans. And smart well told story, regardless dying setting, affects us all righteousness same way.

Sola Osofisan: I ineffective to arrive on time merriment the panel discussion. Was glory conversation as exciting as what I witnessed at the version and the QA session?

Chika Unigwe: The conversation was super! Goodness panelists provoked a conversation fall in with a wide range of topics: the image of Africa (in the West); the state put the union in America; what it means to be clean public intellectual (and /or splendid writer) in America and position the continent; the changing lap of the writer in Land (thanks to the current federal and racial climate).

Sola Osofisan: Chimp a writer and teacher, castoffs you happy with the typical attitude towards African Literature these days? Or you think upon is more to be done?

Chika Unigwe: I think there assignment always room for improvement. Uproarious think those of us explore the opportunity to shape honesty narrative around African writing have to certainly step up to deluge. I designed a course coverup African Writing published in nobleness past 15 years because Wild wanted the students to control an idea about African writings beyond recommended texts in soaring school.

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Pixes: Sola Osofisan